Some college football games end without any drama, coming to a close with a whimper as the winner assumes the victory formation. Others end with a bang, with one team pulling out a late stand, a late score, a Hail Mary, a miracle.

What made this year's rivalry memorable wasn't just the ending, as amazing as it was, but also the stakes: Auburn met Alabama to decide the Southeastern Conference West Division, a berth in the SEC title game and a potential national championship.

The 2013 Iron Bowl fits snugly into the greatest finishes in college football history, along with a select handful of others. While there are many contenders for the list, here are the five most memorable, amazing, pinch-me-I'm-dreaming finishes in the history of the sport:

1. "Hail Flutie": Boston College at Miami (Fla.), Nov. 23, 1984

Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie secured the Heisman Trophy by finding Gerald Phelan in the end zone as time expired to lift the Eagles to a 47-45 win against the defending national champions. The play remains so ingrained in memory that as recently as this year, it was being used in a commercial by UPS to demonstrate the power of logistics – how Flutie rolled out to his right, eluded the rush, reared back and delivered the ball 63 yards downfield for the game-winning score.

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2. "The Play": Stanford at California, Nov. 20, 1982

This play – The Play, to most – continues to serve as a reminder to trombonists everywhere: Stay in your seats until the whistle blows. How things reached that point, with the band out on the field, involves a late field goal, a 15-yard penalty, six laterals, a pair of should-have-been-penalties and, yes, the trampled trombonist. If that fails to properly describe what occurred, well, it's better just to watch.

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3. "The Miracle at Michigan": Colorado at Michigan, Sept. 24, 1994

Colorado scored twice in the game's final 136 seconds, but it's the final score – the desperation heave – that everyone remembers: Kordell Stewart, he of the cannon arm, to long, lanky wide receiver Michael Westbrook. Ever wonder what it's like to hear 100,000 fans go silent in a heartbeat? Then listen to the Michigan crowd go silent as a whisper after Westbrook came down with Stewart's 64-yard toss.

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4. "Kick, 'Bama, Kick": Alabama at Auburn, Nov. 30, 2013

If a game is tied, if there is one second left in the fourth quarter and if one team is lining up for a field goal, there are only four ways the game can end in regulation: one, by the kicking team making the field goal; two, by the defenders blocking the field goal and running it back for a touchdown; three, by one of two teams committing a penalty, giving the other one more play to score before the end of regulation; or four, the defensive team catches a field goal that fails to go out of the end zone and then runs wildly, zigzagging its way through 100 or so yards of potential tacklers for a touchdown as time expires. Auburn went with the fourth option. It was a finish you couldn't have predicted in a million years, and one you couldn't possibly believe had you not seen it with your own eyes.

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5. "Statue Left": Boise State vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 1, 2007

Remember when Boise State was an underdog? (Or, rather, a bigger underdog?) Think back to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, when the Broncos – total interlopers to the Bowl Championship Series – beat heavily favored Oklahoma, 43-42. The Statue of Liberty play for a two-point conversion that ended the game was the cherry on top, but Boise State only made it to that point by nailing a hook-and-lateral play late in the fourth quarter to force overtime. After Oklahoma scored first in overtime, Boise ran "Statue Left" to win by a single point.